33711 Highway 1 in Stewart’s Point features a roughly 4,900-square-foot home on 218 acres of private, coastal land.

33711 Highway 1 in Stewart’s Point features a roughly 4,900-square-foot home on 218 acres of private, coastal land.

Photo: Open Homes Photography

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Top: Floor-to-ceiling windows surround an office with a wood-burning fireplace at at 33711 Highway 1.
Middle: A floating roof shelters a stone patio and its outdoor fireplace of the four-bedroom home.
Above: 33711 Highway 1 in Stewart's Point offers almost 5,000 square feet of modern luxury on 218 acres of private, coastal land. less

Top: Floor-to-ceiling windows surround an office with a wood-burning fireplace at at 33711 Highway 1.
Middle: A floating roof shelters a stone patio and its outdoor fireplace of the four-bedroom home. ... more

Photo: Open Homes Photography

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The Stewart’s Point home uses an elongated design to maximize views.

The Stewart’s Point home uses an elongated design to maximize views.

Photo: Open Homes Photography

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The 4,905-square-foot home features three pavilions connected by a floating metal roof.

The 4,905-square-foot home features three pavilions connected by a floating metal roof.

Photo: Open Homes Photography

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Sharp geometric configurations define the architecture of the Stewart's Point home.

Sharp geometric configurations define the architecture of the Stewart's Point home.

Staring down a bully remains an effective way to beat one. Architect Joan Hallberg embraced the philosophy in the early ’90s with a castle-like masterpiece 350 feet above the Pacific Ocean in Stewart’s Point, where Northern California’s windswept coastline feasts on timid architecture. Imposing yet welcoming, the four-bedroom fortress known as the Sonoma Coast House employs multiple pavilions connected beneath a floating roof. The ingenious approach braces the home against the elements while separating public spaces from private bedroom suites.

“It sits lightly on the land, but absorbs the force of nature,” said Wendy Storch of Sotheby’s International Realty, who is listing 33711 Highway 1 with Peter Colbert for $4.75 million.

The region’s coastline seesaws between stunning and severe. Waves roiled by stiff winds relentlessly pound jagged cliffs. Sea foam ebbs and flows with the tide and gives a face to the sea’s salty air. Fog blooms along the horizon, cloaking the landscape in steely mist. Built atop an elongated, narrow peninsula, the four-bedroom home strikes a symbiotic relationship with its surroundings. Bulky hardwood trusses and concrete foundation slabs complement the rocky shoreline and the redwood, Douglas fir, hemlock and bishop pine trees growing throughout the 218-acre lot.

And there’s no shortage of places to enjoy the surroundings. Catwalks link roof decks spanning the home, and several public rooms enjoy floor-to-ceiling windows on multiple sides. Decks and patios off the lower level embrace the elements in a truly scenic setting. An atrium-esque dining room features multiple walls of glass in a centralized location. Wings housing three guest suites stand on one side of the dining room, while the other contain public areas and the master bedroom.

An eight-burner range and a restaurant-quality walk-in refrigerator outfit an open kitchen with dual islands and several sinks. Radiant-heated concrete flooring lines a sharply angled great room flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows. An oversize, wood-burning fireplace dominates the adjoining sitting area. Its presence invites comparisons to mead halls of the Middle Ages, continuing the medieval undertones within the fortified residence.

The home employs a horizontal layout with three redwood pavilions clad in shiplap siding. Black anodized aluminum frames glazed windows, and steel flues ascend from three wood-burning fireplaces.

Though the home occupies a level stretch of land, none of its three redwood pavilions connect with each other on the ground level. That doesn’t mean the spaces are completely isolated, however, as an open-air roof deck spanning the length of the home accesses each piece.

The corrugated roof is a feat of engineering on its own. Made of galvanized steel, the semicircular design shaves wind gusts with its knife-like edge. This complex creation allows the semi-protected roof deck to accommodate guests in all types of weather.

Clerestory windows filter in natural light and visually separate the structure from its roof for an arresting curb appeal. Its catwalks link sizable roof decks highlighted by wide wooden planking, ocean views and a hot tub.

Features: A bold material palette and innovative design forge this architecturally significant four-bedroom with southern views over the Pacific Ocean. The structure employs three independent pavilions connected by a semicircular roof made of corrugated steel. Concrete, timber and steel supports a luxury home that complements its surroundings without bowing before them. Lead architect Joan Hallberg and structural architect James Meacham of MKM & Associates completed the roughly 4,900-square-foot home in 1992.